CALL FOR PAPERS

Jewish Educational Leadership invites proposals for its upcoming issue focusing on

Almost immediately it became clear that October 7th was a watershed day in modern Jewish history. Along with the incomprehensible loss, many conceptions about Israel and its neighbors were shattered. Jewish communities throughout the Western world were shaken by the outpouring of support for Hamas and the lack of understanding for Israel, and even in the Jewish world, the continuing battle against Hamas is causing some Jews to reevaluate their own relationships with Israel. The sense that Jewish youth do not know enough about Israel sparked soul-searching in the Jewish educational community along with earnest efforts to figure out how to retool education about Israel in day schools, part-time schools, camps, and other venues. This journal aims to capture some of that initial re-thinking, to share what thoughtful people and institutions are doing and considering.

We are interested in articles which will address questions including:

• What should be the goal of Israel education at various stages, from elementary school through high school? What should be the balance between cognitive and affective Israel education? 
• What should be included in basic Israel literacy? 
• To what extent should Israel education intend to prepare students for their encounter with broader society?
• What new resources are necessary and available to enable meaningful Israel education?
• To what extent should topics related to Israel education be core to our educational program? How should that affect the way we apportion our precious educational hours?
• How do we help students build meaningful relationships with Israel?
• To what extent should schools take positions on Israel (i.e., we are a Zionist school)? To what extent are tensions surrounding Israel affecting school-sponsored social activism or public stances?
• To what extent and toward what end should we be exposing our students to multiple narratives about Israel?
• How can we integrate formal and informal education with regard to Israel education? 
• How do we prepare teachers to deal with Israel-related issues in their classrooms?
• What are some of the short-term changes schools are making regarding teaching Israel? What do those same schools envision happening beyond the current situation?

Articles should be 1000-2000 words in length, with no footnotes or academic references.

The journal is intended for teachers, educational leaders, and interested laypeople across a range of Jewish educational settings. Proposals should be 100-200 words and briefly share the focus of the proposed article and the key points the article will present.

Please send proposals or queries for all submissions to zvi@lookstein.org by May 19, 2024. Full articles will be due on Augut 10, 2024.